Frequently Asked Questions on the Cranberries... Answered!
Last 
5/8/96
Thanks to Greg Teltschik, Rory McGarrigle, with substantial input from the "Ridiculous Thoughts" mailing list.
You can e-mail me at cls4leaf@oocities.com
I've just listened to "Salvation" - it is amazing. It's a fast, rocky number about drugs and the way they can wreck lives, and as usual, Dolores' singing is perfect in every way. There is a limited edition collecting box with some versions of "Salvation". The B-sides on the single are "I'm Still Remembering" (Album Version), and "I Just Shot John Lennon" (Live Version).
I'm Still Remembering is a beautiful, yet slightly mournful ballad about her life and her husband, Don.
I.J.S. John Lennon is another fast and rocky track, mourning the pointless death of John Lennon.
Uncertain EP (First ever cranberries release)
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (CID 8003 514156-2)
No Need To Argue (CID 8029 524050-2)
Doors And Windows [CD ROM] (Island\Philips. 810 9001)
To The Faithful Departed, out 29th April 1996
A great mailing list by fans for fans. Keep up with the latest gossip on your favorite member! cranberry-saw-us@ocf.berkeley.eduTo join the list you MUST type only the following in the body of your message:
subscribe cranberry-saw-us [your e-mail address, with square brackets]
PO Box 180
Limerick
Ireland
or
The Cranberries
Trinity Street
3 Alveston Place
Leamington Spa
CV32 4SN
Basic Biographicals
Q: Who are the Cranberries
A: The band members are, from the cover of the No Need to Argue album:
Dolores O'Riordan (Burton) - vocals, guitars, keyboard (floor)
Fergal Lawler - Drums, percussion (far-right)
Noel Hogan - guitars, backing vocals (far-left)
Mike Hogan - bass (seated behind Dolores)
Q: Where are they from?
A: They're from the suburbs of Limerick, Ireland. Limerick is one of the four districts/counties of Ireland, and is located in the southwest corner region of Ireland. To be exact, Dolores is from Ballybricken (a village eight miles outside Limerick), Mike and Noel are from Moycross (an equally small town), and Fergal is from Parteen.
Q: What are their birthdays?
A: It was in a December special issue of Rolling Stone. I know that someone has the birthdates and places...so you ought to go check it out at a library or perhaps someone has it on this list. It will be posted in the FAQ as soon as the author has those dates. I think Dolores' birthday is 6th September 1971, because she wrote "Twenty One" on the 6th September 1992...?
Q: What is Dolores' full name?
A: Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan Burton
Q: Do any of the band members have other siblings (besides Mike and Noel)?
A: Yes, Dolores is the youngest of seven children: one sister and six brothers. The others seem to have no other siblings.
Q: Is there an official biography?
A: Yes, its available from the ftp site at uclink.berkeley.edu
Q: How did the band get together?
A: Originally, the band was called Cranberry Saw Us, a crude pun on the Thanksgiving staple. Dolores was not part of the group at this time. When the frontman Niall left the band (amicably), Dolores happened upon the boys and the rest is, as they say, history.
Q: Are any of the Cranberries married/engaged?
A: Yes, Dolores is happily married to Don Burton. Fergal's engaged (?), and Mike has a steady girlfriend. Noel seems to be a loner.
Q: Who's Don Burton? How did they meet?
A: Don Burton used to be the road manager for Duran Duran back in 1993. The
Cranberries were the opening act for Duran Duran back in 1993, and that's how
the two met.
Of course, Duran Duran quickly stopped touring, and the Cranberries continued
with their Euro tour, but after Dolores' freak accident while skiing in
Finland, the Cranberries canceled their 2nd US "Everybody Else..." tour
supporting Stone Temple Pilots, and make time for her to hang with Don and
Duran Duran in the US. The two eventually got married in a highly
controversial manner in Ireland in July 1994.
Q: Did Dolores marriage affect the Cranberries at all?
A: As a result of their marriage, Don Burton brought the Cranberries over to
Left Bank Productions (his company), and is the proud manager of the
Cranberries. He was married once before, and has a child (Hence, the verse,
"You Q: So what happened as a result of the Cranberries moving to Left Bank?
A: A couple of things:
As for the change in approach... the Cranberries were initially promoted as an
"alternative" band (whatever that means). However, Dolores doesn't like to be
categorized into any musically genre, and rightfully, the Cranberries has a
broader musical appeal. This was a significant move on behalf of marketing,
(regardless of Dolores' wishes or "artistic" identity) since this promoted the
Cranberries as a very unique eclectic band. "Zombie" for the "Alternative"
kids, "Ode to My Family" and "Linger" to the more older, VH-1ish greatest hits
crowd, and "Dreams" and "Zombie" (again) to the more modern Rock 'n' Roll
crowd. All this resulted in more international attention and money to the
Cranberries.
The Berries on the Web
Q: Is there a World Wide Web site?
A: Yes, see
The Cranberries on the Internet
All information is available by fingering the address:
cranberry-saw-us@ocf.berkeley.edu
Q: Is there a newsgroup or mailing list (a forum for discussion) dedicated to
the Cranberries?
A: Yes. There are both a newsgroup (alt.music.cranberries) and a
mail-reflector mailing list at uclink.berkeley.edu. There is no digest-format
at this time.
Straight from the owener of the mailing list:
People send email to an automated subscribe/unsubscribe program at OCF.
majordomo@ocf.berkeley will send you a letter back on how to get on the right
list - at the host uclink.
Q: Who runs the mailing list? Who should I contact if I experience any
problems?
A: Eugene Shindo is the answer to both questions. He can be reached at
eshindo@uclink.berkeley.edu.
As for subscribing/unsubscribing, for the moment, send all requests to:
owner-cranberry-saw-us@uclink.berkeley.edu
or
eshindo@uclink.berkeley.edu
Recordings
Q: Are there any OTHER recorded material besides "Everybody Else..." and "No
Need to Argue" by the Cranberries?
A: Yes. Both commercial material and bootlegged material are available on the
market.
Commercially, the following were/are available. The earlier material is now
out of print.
"Nothing Left at All" - 3 track/song cassette only. Limited to 300 copies in
the Limerick, Ireland vicinity. Out of Print
"Uncertain" - 4 track/song EP. Available via vinyl (record) or on CD. Out of
Print
"LIVE" video - 02/15/94 at Astoria 2, a London, UK club.
Various CD singles printed in UK, Germany, Australia, and USA. Singles are
worth the money since they contain B-sides. However, older singles (i.e.
Dreams, Linger, Zombie) are now out of print and are difficult to find. In
most cases, singles are released in form of "Limited Edition", and are very
hard to find once one misses the chance to purchase the singles.
As for the available singles, please take a look at the WWW page, or download
the discography at the ftp.ocf.berkeley.edu site.
Q: Did Dolores do any solo projects?
A: Yes. She lent her vocals for "Sun Does Rise" on Jah Wobble's "Becoming More Like God" album, after she broke her foot skiing in the Alps: she appeared in that video sitting down; and she did backing vocals for Twist of Oliver's "Carousel".
Q: Whats this I heard about a CD-ROM? Where can I get it? What do I need to
run it?
A: Yes, a CD-ROM was released in September, 1995. It contains previously
unreleased audio tracks, a film clip of Zombie from the Cranberries Woodstock
94 appearance, and a collection of pictures and other information. It retails
right around $25 US, although it can be found lower.
The CD-ROM is available at record stores and software stores. Not all of them
carry it, though, so it may take some looking around or a special order. Don't
worry, its more than worth it!
The CD-ROM can be played on audio CD players, Mac and PC home computers, and
Interative CD-ROM systems. Contrary to some of the rumors out there, this disc
was designed to be played on all the different machines and will not damage any
of them (although the label warns that the first audio track is actually all
the data and should NOT be played on audio CD players - it can potentially ruin
your speakers).
Q: Do the Cranberries have any song books out?
A: There currently are two books available, one for each album. They include
all of the lyrics as well as tablatures for guitar, vocals, and piano.
Q: Are their any biographies or other books about the Cranberries?
A: Yes, there are two books. The first is called The Cranberries by Mick
Curran. It has several pictures in it as well as some text that describes the
Cranberries rise to fame.
The other book is called In Your Head by Stuart Bailie. It has just recently
been released in England and Australia and should be available in the US soon.
It is already available from some mail-order vendors. It, too, has lots of
cool pictures in it and discusses the Cranberries success from a different
perspective. The two books complement each other.
The Cranberries also have minor appearances in two other books: the Woodstock
94 book and the MTV Unplugged book. In the back of the Unplugged book are some
outtakes from interviews with the band during the making of the Cranberries
episode. However, there is not enough in either book to justify their cost
(unless you like other featured bands or have to have a complete collection).
Q: I gotta have a different picture of Dolores every month. Is there a
calendar available?
A: Yes, a 1995 calendar has been released by Danilo Press. It is not the
easiest to find, but its out there. There was supposed to be a second
calendar, but it was apparently cancelled.
Also, all of the pictures in the calendar are not Dolores, so you may have to
get your Dolores fix every month somewhere else. Buy one of the books!
Q: Are there songs that have not appeared on either of the two albums? What
are they? Where can I get a listing of all of the Cranberries songs?
A: Yes, there are several b-sides and other material available that do not
appear on the two main albums. As of today, there is not yet a complete
listing. One day there might be. Today, your best bet is to get a copy of the
discography and look through it.
Q: Are the Cranberries on tour right now? Will they be coming to my home town?
A: As of the most recent update to the FAQ, the Cranberries had just finished
their world tour and were in the process of releasing their third album. They have released tour dates (March 17th) for their "For The Faithful Departed Tour". They will be coming to Wembley Arena on December 16th, and also plan to go to the far east. For
further information, keep a close eye on the mailing list for the latest news.
The Songs
Q; What is the full name to Still Can't...
A: Still Can't Recognize the Way I Feel
Q: When will the third album be released?
A: The album has already been recorded, and is expected to be released by
Spring, 1996.
Q: What is the real color of Dolores' hair?
A: Brown
Q: Why does she dye it all those different colors?
A: Why does anyone dye their hair? I guess she likes it? Actually, this has
been the topic of a lot of discussion on the list. There are no answers.
Q: I've heard rumours that Dolores is going to leave the Cranberries. Is this true?
A: No, not at the moment. There has been no official mention of this. In
fact, just the opposite. The Cranberries are sticking together.
Q: When I saw the Cranberries in concert, some music was played before they
came out? What was it? Is it always the same?
A: The various artist music that were played before the berries performance are
what the berries chose to be played. I talked to a promoter/soundboard person
at the show, and they told me that the songs played were not random...but at
the berries' decision.
From Eugene Shindo:
Well, for those of you who have actually gone to the concert, you'd recognize
that they always arrive onto the stage with the same song. During their
"everybody else" days, they'd enter with "The Falls" from "The Mission"
soundtrack.
But they actually enter onto stage during the NNTA tour with a song called,
"Bread and Wine" from the "Last Temptation of Christ" soundtrack (it's the
"Disneyland" introduction music that the berries entered onto the stage with.
Peter Gabriel produced, performed, and did practically everything on the "Last
Temptation" soundtrack. It's probably more known to PG fans as one of his
"albums", as "Passion" (which is the name of soundtrack)
Which leads a little further into the Cranberries' musical roots. Dolores
listens to A LOT of REALWORLD music (ironically Peter Gabriel's own
label/distributor for World Music Artists). If you have listened to the
bootlegs, "Blood Strawberries," there's a little Dolores interview where she
hints that she gets some concepts from African music (REALWORLD).
1. More attention for PRing through the media.
2. A change in approach in PRing the band.
3. Less cost involved on behalf of the band.
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